Nick Drake- Road & Which Will (REACTION & REVIEW) 

The whole record of Pink Moon is an absolute masterpiece.

Extremely moving & thick with melancholia, Nick's style and voice were very special. The song RIVER MAN is my quintessential ND song for it always takes my breath away! Sadly he had no real success in his day and suffered from depression and either by accident or suicide, died early at 26 in 74. Finally in 1999 he grained recognition in the US because his song Pink Moon was used in a Volkswagen commercial. Bittersweet

One of the very, very few flawless albums we have. Probably the only album to hit me so strongly on its first listen, and still hit me just as strongly countless listens later. Timeless music.

Such a unique guitar sound - Nick was notable for playing with incredibly 'dead' strings (in other words they're old strings, he changes them infrequently) - it's one part of what gives the guitar that very distinctive quality.

His guitar playing is so expressive and fits so well with his singing and lyrics. Any further instruments would tend lessen the impact and break the spell that he casts. I believe the only other instrument is the piano on the title track. The album doesn't explore a great range, all the songs have a similar mood, but he creates that mood in a way that few other artists can (Leonard Cohen, maybe?). Once you know about his depression and that fact that he died young (this was his last full album), it's difficult not to have that in mind when listening. In that respect, there are similarities to Vincent Van Gogh: another artist who had little success during his lifetime.

To me his guitar playing, singing and compositions are just pure beauty.

Just beautiful... So glad to have discovered Nick years ago.

His guitare is in open-tune (special tuning of the strings) which gives this very special tone in his music (and makes it so hard to play if you're a guitarist). But what an incredible artist! Appart from this album, my favorite songs from Nick are 'at the chime of a city clock' and "fruit tree".

Nick was an extreme introvert and found it hard to deal with or connect with people, having my own son who has Asperger's Syndrome, I have often wondered if Nick was the same, but there was very little public awareness of the condition in Nick's time. Added to this was the common theme amongst musicians of his era that the use of recreational drugs could be devastating for someone who already had a fragile psyche. His outlet was his music, he knew he had something to offer, but soon seemed to accept that he was unlikely to be appreciated in his own lifetime, his song 'Fruit tree' being the clearest message. 'Which will' could well be Nick speaking in the third person and be an internal dialogue about his own future. There is no footage of Nick playing, the few times he was persuaded to play live were disastrous, he didn't engage with the audience, and because of the many open tunings he used, he would just take his time between songs retuning and ignore the audience's impatience. Technically he was a good guitarist, but the songs sound more complicated than they actually are, because of the weird and wonderful ways his guitar was tuned. He also had very long fingers which may present a problem for those guitarists who want to play his songs the way Nick did. He died at the age of 26 at his parent's house, and many have debated whether his overdose was suicide or just a mistake.

I have been a Nick Drake admirer since long before his music became popular once again. To really appreciate his music you have to understand how ahead of his time he was. This music was written before you were born. Also, it is so important to know his life and how he lived it, as well as the trials he went through that ultimately culminated in the taking of his own life. He was such an individual talent that no one else in my experience has duplicated, nor should they.

I’ve played this album in its entirety about 50 times since you first reviewed Pink Moon. It’s a gift so thank you for covering it JP.

I just read a recent interview with John Wood who produced Pink Moon. Here is a quote from the article “ “Nick played his guitar like a metronome,” Wood says as we discuss the pulsating quality Drake had. “I cannot think of anybody else I’ve ever recorded, with that little studio experience and at that age, who had that ability. It was extraordinary.” The singer was 23.”

Hi Justin. It is nice to have Nick Drake back on the channel. I love all three of his albums. His songs are melancholic, but, somehow, always very comforting. I hope that when you have completed, " Pink Moon ", you might go back and listen to some more of, " Five Leaves Left ". His song, " River Man " is an absolute masterpiece. If you would like to know more about the life of Nick, I would recommend the documentary film, " A Skin Too Few ". There is also a great book by Trevor Dann ( Darker Than The Deepest Sea - The Search For Nick Drake ).

The great thing about guitar is during outages, you can still play. This reminds me of the quiet feeling of trying to cope during power outage and not only doing so, practically enjoying it. Makes me want to retune my one of my friends lower.

Road is my favourite track off Pink Moon. Possibly my fave Nick Drake song. I could listen to it on repeat for days. It's like meditation.

One of the best interpretations, or at least attempts on such, of Nick's lyrics in these kinds of presentations on YT. Really shows you're earnest and serious in finding out what you're actually hearing!❤

It’s such a perfect album. His guitar is sublime. Great reaction thanks.

Another great reaction, thank you. Pink Moon is famously the album Nick recorded virtually in secret, hence it being so sparse. He dropped off the tapes without fanfare (or even warning) at his label, and the receptionist didn't even recognise it was him, he was in such bad shape. Years later, they discovered some other songs had been recorded at the end of the tape, including the sadly prophetic Black Eyed Dog - once you finish reacting to Pink Moon, please try that song as well...

I've tried a few times with Nick Drake, having grown up with him as a kind of lost local hero, and today was the first time I feel like we connected. Maybe I'm just in the right mellow mood today? I love the intimacy of it, and, as a guitar player, I wish I could play half as well. It's the kind of thing that isn't as difficult as it sounds, once you've learned how to do it, but getting there takes some work. I insisted for a long time to my niece that the moon is not only made of cheese, but also that it is closer to England than France is. I lost interest in her when she stopped believing me.

Nick Drake's music is so bleak and sad, but in a strange way, it's beautiful too. Lots of lovely chords. It is a great pity things never worked out for him. Thanks for keeping his sound alive JP.

"Darkness can bring you the brightest light." - William Blake

Nick's fingerpicking is incredibly complex and the hardest I've ever tried to copy in decades of playing . And he did those recordings live, no second guitar, no overdubs and singing at the same time - all mistake free, in one take, and with feeling and perfect rhythmic timing. Genius.

Well done going back to Nick Drake. Please don't forget his friend John Martyn - there is so much in his oeuvre to discover, a musician who constantly reinvented his music, there is so much to hear. Try 'Couldn't Love You More' on his Glorious Fool album. Produced by and featuring his friend Phil Collins on drums.

Very happy to hear these 2 songs, Nick Drakes guitar playing is special and has even been compared to Robert Johnson. He decided that this album would be without other musicians or Robert Kirby's string arrangements, giving it a darker, stripped back feel.

1) The road starts from home recordings of Nick's mother, Molly Drake. 2) The road might lead to Sibylle Baier's _"Driving"._

Nick Drake’s influence on guitarists continues into the 21st century. If you’d like to hear some examples, check out Alexi Murdock on “Dream About Flying” or “All My Days”. Also worth a listen is Ryley Walker who sounds at times like Nick Drake and/or Tim Buckley on “The High Road” or “Primrose Green”.

Not a gentle father or a father I believe. He was a very tormented soul. Rest in Paradise. Gone too soon

Brilliant Songwriter, singer and musician. RIP Nick Drake. ❤️✌️

Curiously your description at 6:09 describes The Doors perfectly too.

The very first time I heard Nick Drake was about 25 years ago. The song "Things Behind The Sun" (the last track on this album) was playing on the radio and my first reaction was, wow, his guitar playing is fantastic and his vocals were just a bonus. I've been a fan ever since. As far as trying to play his music, well, although I do play guitar and have covered hundreds of songs by different artists, especially Bowie, I did want to have a go at the song mentioned above but decided not to because some are just too well played for me to butcher them, lol. Best leave well alone sometimes. This can also be construed as it being too difficult to play, ha ha. Love his style of playing though, so maybe one day...I'll think about it some more.😺

So good.

Nick's sound on this record as we hear it now, as dry and intimate as you describe it, is in large part down to the studio work of John Wood. He was both a master of setting up the mikes for how the artist was going to perform (Glyn Johns was good at this too) as well as getting excellent takes, especially with as withdrawn an artist as Nick Drake who really only wanted to do one take.

Nick Drake had a near perfect (sadly short) recording career with many many highlights - my favourites are Time Has Told Me, Fly and Black Eyed Dog though these two tracks will do perfectly well to be going on with. I hadn't heard the Robert Johnson comparison before but it makes sense. No excuse for not reviewing the whole catalogue (or indeed Johnson's!)

Nick Drakes guitar pieces aren't usually that difficult to play. You just have to tune your guitar in a weird way. The hard bit is finding the tunings he uses. The Pink Moon album was recorded when he was suffering from a deep depression, just before his suicide. Road seems to me to be Nick Drake trying to explain how he felt. It's an absolutely beautiful end expressive song, from a beautiful sad album.

Starkly beautiful. Love Nick Drake. This is a great album. After getting into Nick, I started hearing his music in so many movies.

Nick Drake is like the van gogh of music

Parasite = Best song on the album. Definitely a go-to album for me when I wanna listen to some chill folky singer-songwriter vibes.

Lucinda Williams covered "Which Will."

All you Nick questions shall be addressed with my next package...

Well I liked both of these tracks, and yes I've heard the album before. It seems he was using some pretty low open chord tunings, down to C natural I believe--interesting way to not need a bass for accompaniment!

Really well said , great insights on the music of the great Nick Drake. About the guitar technique it is very difficult...it took Nick many hours over years to play with that kind of clarity, subtlety and beauty. Like Joni and Neil Young he played in specific tunings which makes his work that much more unique. There is a documentary about him that mentions the influence of his mother's own compositions and the sample they play is kind of eerie but beautiful.

Always try to watch and support.

Pure genius and far too short of a life!

A great melody is always the key 🔥❤️👍🏻😎

But any light from the moon is just reflected sunlight. Oh, and what kind of cheese is the moon made from? Moonster, of course.

Never liked so much his singing, but when the music is good, I can manage to love the song anyway. I know he's good, that's not in question. Today you cannot find someone playing like this. Do I hear a bit of Bert Jansch?

*William D Drake* is a distant cousin of Nick Drake's. (But he plays pianos/ keyboards, not guitar.) A song that starts out sounding like it might be about a happy cat, but turns out to be about a *Homesweet Homestead Hideaway* , after all is this one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_3uoARaBrMk.html The ending is great (had to be; it was nicked from the Sea Nymphs). The beginning is what was needed all along, to build up to that.

I "knew" the moon was not (edited) made of cheese because it wasn't orange. I didn't know there were other colours of cheese. My other cheese related story which occurred later, one of my aunts would mix cream cheese with food colouring so we could have coloured cheese in our cheese sandwiches at kid's parties. I don't know which were most popular, blue, green or pink as they all got eaten. Nick Drake's "Road" sounds like it belonged on Donovan's "Gift from a flower to a garden". "Which Will" is a pleasant folk song. Both were a pleasure to listen too. Intimacy is a good choice of words to describe this.

Hi JP, "Northern Sky" aside you have reacted to two of my favourite Nick Drake songs, i thank you for that. I disagree with your parental interpretation of "Which Will" . Nick was an internally lonely guy and his songs are full of sweet melancholy. For me "Which Will" was always a song about the people around him and possibly a particular lady (?) Either way , a fantastic artist who through suicide left us all far too soon. Great choice and reaction JP. Quick suggestion for another Artist who thru their own hand left us far too soon. Tim Buckley ! his "Greetings from LA" album is one you shouldn't miss ! The track "Sweet Surrender" on it's own should be enough to make you want to listen to the entire album. You won't be disappointed 🙂

"Which Will" has been one of my favorites since my late friend introduced me to ND just over 20 years ago. Yikes it's been that long?......anyways love Nick.

Nick is one of my favorite musicians. Sadly he was just born in the wrong era. His style of music was wayyy ahead of its time, but its unfortunate he never got to see himself get the praise and recognition he deserved.

No-Man (Tim Bowness + Steven Wilson) did two Nick Drake covers ("Pink Moon" and "Road") in the '90s. Obviously, both of those covers are keyboard-focused, but that's what sets them apart of their original versions !

What I like is the low register of both the guitar and the voice. The guitar in Which Will is tuned very low, somewhere between B and C on the lowest string. It makes for a unique sound and I like unique!. 👍 I would consider the guitar part of both songs to be moderate. Their density (low register [notes]) is what gives the playing it’s character. I’m curious about the way his guitar is tuned. The open strings sound great but when he uses the fingerboard, the instrument is out of tune. Either the neck of his guitar is warped or he’s using a different temperament (a kind of fine tuning). Here’s how I rate guitar playing… Basic guitar chords with generic strumming or picking - Easy Elaborate fingerpicking with more obscure chords and hammer-ons- moderate Classical guitar, jazz guitar, Steve Howe, and Edward Van Halen - difficult

I must be one of the few people around who bought a Nick Drake LP when the man was still alive. Sadly, no video or film footage exists of him performing and I don't think he ever performed in front of an audience.

I have a different angle Justin. Think of YTube and then put 9 time zones between the two persons in the song. The meaning can change from one living in an illusion and the other living in reality to meaning both are at a different place in life. One can see the sun because it is noon. The other sees the moon because it is O' Dark 30. Just tossing it out there.

Getting used to your new chair, I see. 😄

Pink Moon is basically the record with "no" production. No drums, bass etc. And it's easily his best because it's just Nick and his songs.

Hey man I appreciate this. Hope you get to review my music one day too :)

I cannot 'duck' this! While I 'gander' your not a guitar player, the comparison to Joni is spot on, they both used alternative tuning's and fingerpicked bass, and melodies.And as writers they both know how to 'goose' our emotions.There are a quite a large 'flock' of singer/songwriters who's genius burned their wings before they could fly into the stars.Nick was one such 'bird' taken too soon. Peace.

You react to more different and obscure music than anyone else I've seen. Incredible String Band? Loreena McKennit? Modern Lovers? XTC? Captain Beefhart? Sleepytime Gorilla Museum ffs?? Dude. If you like the ISB and Pentangle and Malicorne you might want to try a few more traditional Brit folkies from the same era. Martin Carthy, who practically invented DADGAD tuning. Paul Simon ripped off his version of "Scarborough Fair." Dylan learned his version of "Lord Franklin" which he turned into "Bob Dylan's Dream." Johnny Marr. cited him as an influence. Carthy was a member of Steeleye Span for awhile - supplied most of their material! Still going strong at 80-something. He and Dave Swarbrick of Fairport Convention had an amazing duo before Fairport was a gleam in Richard Thompson's eye. If you can take a 7 min bloody Scottish ballad I recommend "Prince Heathen." (Studio version please.) Swarb's fiddle weaves sinuous lines around Carthy's propulsive guitar. Trigger warning: the song is VERY dark - Game of Thrones-ish.

Not so fun fact. Nick Drake died five years after recording his record "Five Leaves Left".

Nice enough. Though rather one dimensional, and almost indistinguishable. I can appreciate it/them on one level, but can't imagine I'd ever be in the mood to sit down and play these discs. As I've touched on previously, the whole solo troubadour thing, I always feel there's something missing.

Hmm... a little bit bland and same-y. I can imagine the whole album is like this with the only distinguishing feature between each track being the theme/topic sung about. Okay if in the mood for it, I guess, but it's too monotone to hold my interest.

I really don't want to be disingenuous but as much as I think you "get" Nick Drake, I think if you are English, the music of Nick Drake may be a bit more poignant.